'THIS COULD HAPPEN anytime on any weekend into the foreseeable future," Grateful Dead bass legend Phil Lesh promised a sun-drenched crowd after he and his son, Grahame, and guitarist Mark Karan finished a lively set early Sunday afternoon on the patio of Lesh's new Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael.

While the trio worked through covers of Dead songs like "Bertha," "Deal" and "I Know You Rider," boats sailed by on the San Rafael Canal and Deadheads ordered from a brunch menu that featured a "Phil's Scramble" (egg whites, avocado, cheddar, scallions and tomato). While the music was playing, young Deadheads twirled and danced in a kind of mini version of a Grateful Dead concert.

It was the first time the youthful-looking 72-year-old rock hall of famer had played al fresco at Terrapin, his new restaurant and music venue at 100 Yacht Club Drive, a pleasant little oasis off busy East Francisco Boulevard, marked by the Terrapin logo of two turtles dancing and playing a banjo and a tambourine. It's the realization of his long-held dream of a musical home away from home in Marin County.

Lesh, who lives in Ross and has a weekend house in Stinson Beach's exclusive Seadrift, was all smiles as he patiently posed for pictures with groups of fans after the patio show.

After plans to build a "music barn" in Fairfax were scuttled last year by NIMBY neighbors, Lesh bought the Seafood Peddler restaurant and adjacent Palm Ballroom in February and staged his first concerts there a month later.

"We're just getting going," Phil's wife, Jill, said as she took me on a tour of the upstairs "Living Room," a comfortable space with leather couches and wingback chairs that will be available for community events, and the first floor "Family Room," another welcoming area across from the bar with a scattering of shabby chic furniture, hatch cover tables and an original framed Al Hirschfeld drawing of the Grateful Dead.

"This all came together in six weeks," Lesh said proudly as Bob Dylan songs played on the house sound system. "It's astonishing after the debacle in Fairfax."

He and Jill knew that his would be the place they were looking for when they stopped in for lunch one afternoon and saw a graffiti of the Dead's "Steal Your Face" skull and lightning bolt logo and the words "Buckle up kids" in black spray paint on a wall on the edge of the parking lot. The best guess is that it was left by a fan during a previous series of rehearsal concerts in the old ballroom by the Grateful Dead spinoff band Furthur, featuring Lesh and Bob Weir.

"When we saw that, Jill and I looked at each other and said, 'Why not this place?'" Lesh recalled. "The owner hadn't been thinking about leaving, but he was in the mood to do something different. So it turned out the neighbors in Fairfax did us a favor."

As a reminder that some things are meant to be, the wait staff now wear the prophetic "Stealie" logo and its "Buckle up kids" slogan on their work shirts. And Lesh likes to point out that the Dead had their Club Front rehearsal hall and band hangout for many years on nearby Front Street.

"We have a lot of history in the Canal," he said.

The idea for this kind of informal musical base close to home came from the "Midnight Rambles" the Band's Levon Helm hosted in his barn in Woodstock, N.Y. Two years ago, Lesh played at one of the Rambles with his sons, Grahame and Brian, and became sold on the concept.

"It was absolute magic," he recalled. "Everyone was there to experience the music, and that's what we're trying to get going here — to have a place where people can lose themselves in the music, where all they want is to be there with the music and with their community."

Lesh was in New York in April with Furthur, playing eight nights at the Beacon Theatre, while Helm was dying of cancer in a Manhattan hospital. While Helm was too sedated for visitors, Lesh was able to speak with his daughter, Amy, and his musical director. The Band's Garth Hudson was also there when Helm died on April 19.

"The most beautiful thing was that they were all going in and singing to him," Lesh told me. "They swear they saw him smile, even in his sedated state. If I'm not mistaken, they were singing while he passed, which I hope is true. I couldn't wish for a better farewell myself."

Terrapin opened in March with a dozen concerts in its remodeled music hall, renamed the Grate Room. The shows featured Warren Haynes, Jimmy Herring and other nationally known musicians. Some Deadheads bristled when tickets were priced at $150 and $300, but Lesh says it was necessary to cover the cost of bringing in stars from out of town to play in a room that holds only about 400 people tops.

This weekend and next, Terrapin hosts its first West Coast Rambles. Tickets are $65 for those shows, and they're limited in number. This Friday and Saturday are sold out. (Information at www.terrapincrossroads.net.)

After decades of performing in other peoples' venues, Lesh describes the experience of playing in his own place as "kind of liberating."

"I don't have a curfew here," he said with a wide grin. "I own the place. I'm hiring the musicians. I can play anything I want."

Part of the reason for Terrapin was to give Lesh a place to play while he gradually winds down his life on the road.

"After 45 years, I'm done with touring," he sighed. "The music is still compelling, but I can't handle the buses, the hotels, the airplanes."

At the height of the Dead's success, they were the biggest touring act in the world, performing in huge sports stadiums. But rock stardom on that scale wasn't as great as people might imagine. Terrapin brings it all back down to a human level.

"Even though thousands of people are screaming and putting out lots of energy, stadiums are so big it's like there's a veil between you and the audience," he said. "But when we get 350 people in here, their love and energy surrounds us, and the music goes out and surrounds them. It takes me back to the '60s at the Carousel Ballroom or the Avalon or the Fillmore. I'm really glad we did this."